Today we had a lot of tears. Both Bella and I struggled to cope with various situations, including being pushed by a friend (several times), having toys snatched away and not listening. As a result, there were a lot of tears shed by Bella. It broke my heart and I was on the verge of tears myself, but I knew I had to be loving, strong and consistent for Bella's sake.
While at a play date with some friends, a little friend of ours continues to struggle with inappropriate aggression. When Bella had a toy this little friend wanted, she would try to grab the toy out of Bella's hands and if that didn't work, she hit and pushed Bella. All I could do was comfort my very upset child and wipe her tears away. It happened several times... but we dealt with it. I think the tears were more from hurt feelings than physical pain, but the emotional pain seems so much worse!
Bella struggled this afternoon and evening to listen to us. While Ian was trying to put a movie on for her, Bella grabbed the DVD from him and refused to give it back. After a trip to time out, I thought she had recovered, but damn, I was wrong. She began throwing toys and destroying her play castle for no apparent reason! I ended up disassembling the castle and taking other toys away from her. We ended up giving her a bath and putting her to bed around 7:30PM because her behavior was so poor. She seemed okay with her bed time routine and willingly went to bed. I'm fairly certain she fell asleep before 8:00PM. Apparently she needed the sleep.
This parenting business is difficult stuff! Every day presents new and challenging dilemmas, but we are working through this somewhat difficult stage of toddler-hood. Bella needs boundaries and limits and it's my jobs as her mother to provide her with safe and healthy boundaries. Like I've always said, we're a work in progress. We are by no means perfect but we can both learn from our mistakes and strive to do better tomorrow.
Hopefully there are less tears tomorrow...
Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & Cecilia
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